SFA Faculty Forum and Ale in Favor? Faculty Discussion Group meetings will be held today. The forum will meet from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the McGee Business Building, Room 133, and Ale in Favor? from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Fredonia Brewery. Both also will be available via Zoom. The remaining meeting dates for this semester are April 22 and May 6.

Meeting ID: 925 4007 1340

Passcode: FORUM

Staff Council will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 14, in McGee Business Building, Room 133, and via Zoom.

Dr. Jordan Barkley, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, will discuss changes in academic affairs and campus reorganization.

The meeting agenda will be available on the meeting information webpage.

Acclaimed actor and Texas native Dennis Quaid will bring star power and business policy insight to SFA as the speaker for the fifth installment of the Nelson Rusche Distinguished Lecture Series. Best known for iconic film roles in “The Rookie,” “The Parent Trap” 1998 remake and “A Dog’s Purpose,” Quaid will be interviewed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom.

The Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce will host the Lone Star Legislative Summit 2026 from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Friday, April 10, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Twilight and Grand ballrooms as well as the student center theater.

The summit, presented by Citizens 1st Bank, will feature a breakfast session with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and actor Dennis Quaid, as well as panel discussions on media, education and water. U.S. Reps. Pete Sessions and Nathaniel Moran will be the luncheon keynote speakers.

For more information, visit the chamber of commerce website.

The University of Texas System Police Department at SFA will be undergoing a virtual assessment by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators beginning later this month, and Chief Mike Funke requests your feedback to help complete the assessment.

If you have comments on the department’s policies and procedures, management, operations, or support services, you can email them to jmurphy@iaclea.org or submit them by calling (936) 468-5900 between 1 and 3 p.m. Monday, April 27.

The assessors will review written materials, conduct interviews and evaluate facilities to verify compliance. Following the assessment, the team will submit their findings to IACLEA, which will determine whether the department will be awarded reaccreditation status for the next four years. Corporal Whitney Mask is serving as accreditation manager throughout the process.

Faculty and staff are invited to attend the Office of International Programs’ series on study abroad options for students.

Designed to boost confidence for those who advise or mentor students in using study abroad opportunities to enrich their education, the series includes four sessions tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. on the following Wednesdays via Zoom:

• April 15 — Study Abroad Program Models, Part 1 (Also available in person in Steen Library, Room 103.)

• April 29 — Study Abroad Program Models, Part 2

• May 13 — ViaTRM (Online Application System) and the Academic Approval Process

• June 3 — Funding and Financial Aid

To obtain the Zoom links, email Inés Maxit at maxitie@sfasu.edu.

SFA’s construction management students in the James I. Perkins College of Education’s School of Human Sciences and Professional Studies will host the “Hard Hat Jacks @ The Village Nac Open House” featuring their work on The Village Nac Neighborhood 2 Shower and Laundry Project from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 1 at The Village Nac at 1188 County Road 823 in Nacogdoches. The event is free and open to the public.

SFA’s student affairs and higher education master’s degree program is accepting applications for fall 2026. Take advantage of these benefits:

• Fully online program

• Flexible full-time or part-time format

• Career-focused curriculum for aspiring student affairs professionals

You can gain relevant student affairs career experience while in graduate school by applying for a graduate assistant position with the Division of Enrollment and Student Engagement. DESE is looking for individuals who are motivated, collaborative and excited to make an impact in areas including Student Involvement, New Student Orientation and Family Programs, Fraternity and Sorority Life, and the Career Center.

To apply for the master’s degree program, follow the directions under the “How to apply” heading on the program webpage.

To apply for a GA position, complete this application by 5 p.m. April 27. DESE will conduct interviews April 30.

National Student Employee Appreciation Week, a time to recognize the hard work, dedication and positive impact student employees bring to campus every day, will be held from April 13 to 17.

Human Resources encourages each department to celebrate their student employees in special ways during this time. Visit the Human Resources website for fun and easy ideas to show your appreciation.

SFA’s Health and Wellness Hub is sponsoring free HIV and syphilis testing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center, Regents’ Suite A.

Available to all faculty, staff and students, the testing will be provided by the Brown Family Health Center.

For more information, contact The Hub at ext. 4482 or thehub@sfasu.edu.

The Faculty Excellence Awards recognize individuals for their contributions to the university through teaching, scholarship and service.

Each college selected an excellence award recipient for each of the three categories. These faculty members, along with a non-tenure track recipient for each category, will be recognized at the Faculty Awards Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

To learn more about this year’s recipients and their awards, visit the Faculty Excellence Awards website.

2026 Teaching Excellence Awards Recipients

• Dr. Yanli Zhang, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

• Dr. Elizabeth Gloyd, College of Liberal and Applied Arts

• Dr. J. Brannon Gary, College of Sciences and Mathematics

• Dr. Rachel Jumper, James I. Perkins College of Education

• Angela Bacarisse, Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts

• David Kaiser, Nelson Rusche College of Business

• Anne Marie Eubanks, Non-Tenure Track Representative

2026 Scholarly and Creative Excellence Awards Recipients

• Dr. Yuhui Weng, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

• Dr. Aaron Coy Moulton, College of Liberal and Applied Arts

• Dr. Bidisha Sengupta, College of Sciences and Mathematics

• Dr. Malcolm Todd Whitehead, James I. Perkins College of Education

• Dr. Ben Morris, Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts

• Dr. Suhyung Lee, Nelson Rusche College of Business

• Dr. Herbert Midgley II, Non-Tenure Track Representative

2026 Service Excellence Awards Recipients

• Dr. Candis Scallan, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

• Dr. Aryendra Chakravartty, College of Liberal and Applied Arts

• Dr. Brian Beavers, College of Sciences and Mathematics

• Dr. Robyn Whitehead, James I. Perkins College of Education

• Ezekiel A. Bocklage, Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts

• Dr. Derek R. Walton, Nelson Rusche College of Business

• Sarah Drake, Non-Tenure Track Representative

Following more than 25 years in higher education and over 20 years of service at SFA, Nerren is retiring.

After receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education with an early childhood emphasis at SFA, Nerren completed her Doctor of Philosophy in professional studies in education at Capella University. She served as a public school teacher and director of the Sonshine School preschool program before joining the SFA faculty as an adjunct instructor in 2000.

Nerren then served in full-time faculty and coordinator roles before being promoted to associate dean of assessment and accountability at SFA. After serving in a similar associate dean role at Sam Houston State University, Nerren returned to SFA as chair of the Department of Education Studies in 2022.

A come-and go reception in Nerren's honor will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. April 24 in the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, Room 212. Colleagues, students and friends are invited to stop by and celebrate Nerren’s career and the many lives she has touched along the way.

SFA's School of Social Work organized an international virtual seminar titled “Social Work Education in the Global North and South” March 26 to commemorate World Social Work Day and Social Work Month.

Held jointly with the Institute of Social Welfare and Research at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh, the event featured two main segments: student presentations on social work education around the world and an expert panel discussion on emerging global grand challenges for social work. University of Dhaka and SFA students participated in the student presentation session, while attendees from the U.S., Bangladesh, India and Peru took part in the expert panel discussion. Speakers shared their knowledge, experiences and challenges related to the social work profession around the world, and they committed to continuing their cooperation by sharing knowledge and resources.

The event featured opening remarks by Dr. Freddie Avant, associate dean and director of the School of Social Work, and Dr. Mahbuba Sultana, professor and director of the Institute of Social Welfare and Research at the University of Dhaka. Dr. James Morris, assistant professor and Bachelor of Social Work program director; Kristin Bailey-Wallace, associate professor; and Dr. Mohammad Khan, assistant professor, hosted, facilitated and coordinated the seminar.

SFA’s School of Music hosted more than 250 participants at the 2026 MidSouth Horn Workshop March 12 through 14. Dr. Andrea Denis, assistant professor of horn, organized the event that brought together horn enthusiasts from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and Texas for performances, masterclasses, competitions and collaborative learning centered on the horn.

The workshop featured guest artists Margaret Tung, horn professor at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, and Daniel Hawkins, principal horn of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and horn professor at Southern Methodist University.

The School of Music extends special thanks to SFA theatre student Zach Sharer, for ensuring that all events ran smoothly in Turner Auditorium, and to SFA sound recording technology student Lucas Storey, for providing high-quality audio support that enhanced both live performances and archival efforts. The school also thanks the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts; Visit Nac; staff collaborative pianists Thomas Nixon, Fangzhou Feng and Margaret Hinchliffe; and the SFA horn studio’s student volunteers.